Will LeBron James Return to Cleveland Cavaliers After Winning NBA Draft Lottery?

This was a thought I and many other people pondered last night while we all had to watch Dan Gilbert’s son in his once cute outfit beat a No. 1 draft pick out of a dead horse. For the second time in three years the Cleveland Cavaliers have won the NBA Draft Lottery and thusly, the No. 1 pick in the draft but they may have hit the real jackpot as the No. 1 pick could lure back the No. 1 player in the NBA.

If you’re wondering why the NBA rigged the lottery in favor of Cleveland — hold on I had to look out my window for black helicopters. If you believe in conspiracy theories, the league may have given the Cavaliers the No. 1 pick yet again because they still feel a bit bad for the way LeBron James spurned the city back in 2010 and left without as much as a handshake — or so history has written it.

But while leaving Cleveland made LeBron James the villain for two seasons, people have seemingly gotten over it and are now looking ahead to a stereotypical Hollywood ending to the career of LeBron James which would see him return home to Cleveland and finally win the city a title. James left Cleveland because he was the only player on the team worth anything but now the Cav’s are a very different team and with yet another No. 1 pick in their pocket they may be able to put together a young team that entices LeBron to come home and end his career where it started.

Obviously, people will take issue with this, particularly Cav’s fans not ready to forgive James. Sure, they say they’ve moved on but the fact of the matter remains if the best player in the game not only wants to play for your team but if a hometown kid, you’re not slamming that door shut in his face.

Cav’s fans would love nothing more than to win a title without LeBron just to say they did. But two No. 1 draft picks in three years means the team has serious talent and Kyrie Irving is already on his way to being a superstar in the league. Adding a big man like Nerlens Noel to the fold means that LeBron James would be walking into a situation where he’s still the man in Cleveland but is this time surrounded by talent that could win multiple titles with his boost of swagger and allure.

And before you scoff at the idea of LeBron James not coming back, realize that it’s completely possible. There is an early termination option in LeBron’s contract with the Heat after this season and he can simply choose to opt out of his contract in 2015. If the Cavaliers put together the team many are fantasizing about with the arrival of yet another No. 1 pick, James might not think twice about redeeming his character in Cleveland.

It’s been floated that LeBron could return to Cleveland, and frankly nothing would redeem him more than doing exactly that. He will always have critics who will blast his return as that of a man only going back to a good situation, but what situation was he supposed to go back to. The wounds of his departure have healed with numerous No. 1 picks and breaks from the NBA, and nothing signifies the end of the hatred for LeBron more so than the fact that his return trips to Cleveland are no longer spectacles and are starting to be met with love.

LeBron returning to Cleveland would be akin to two kindred souls who once shared passionate love but were separated for many years. Then, one day they are reunited after they’ve both lived their lives away from each other and want to settle into the twilight together. It wouldn’t be about other fans butting in, it wouldn’t even be about the NBA.

It would be completely personal and intimate between LeBron and Cav’s fans, and with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft the possibility of a reunion between these two kindred souls is a very real possibility.